Quinn Tratt

What is your favorite restaurant? So, for special occasions, probably Texas de Brazil, or any Hibachi restaurant; [they’re] pretty cool.

If you could look into a crystal ball to see the future, would you do it? Yeah, I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to do that; it’s pretty cool, knowing your future. Obviously, I wouldn’t want to know anything tragic about my life, like if I died in a car crash. I wouldn’t want to do that, because then, I wouldn’t ever get in a car again. 

Is a hot dog a sandwich? Well, I don’t like when people call a hot dog or burger a sandwich. I mean, sure, yes, by technicality, a burger is a sandwich, [and] a hotdog is not a sandwich. But, when people say “Do you want a sandwich?”, I don’t go: “huh, can I have a burger please?”

Do you believe in aliens? That’s actually a really good question that I’ve put a lot of thought into. Gosh, I believe that other life forms are out there, but I don’t believe that aliens are, like, those green creatures black eyes that everyone thinks they are. I do think there’s life [in space], maybe not in the Milky Way galaxy, but in other galaxies.

What’s your favorite season? My favorite season? I think I’ve got to go with summer. I know, it’s such a wild answer. I get to go to overnight camp and friends who I don’t really see that much throughout the year. I get some nice weather, and then when I get back, I get to hang out with my school friends. I go to Six Flags a lot, and no school, which is a plus.

If you were a superhero, what powers would you want to have? Just flying would be sick. Being able to fly at a pretty decent speed, so not just flying at walking speed. That’d be pretty boring. But, I think [that] would be pretty cool and invisibility would be really cool, honestly.

What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you? I almost got kidnapped in eighth grade. So, it was the first day of school and I was walking home, and this car pulls up to me, and he rolls down his window. And, he’s like, “Can you take a picture of me?”, and reaches out his hand with his phone. And I’m like, “No,” and I just walk away. So, then I go home and I [tell] my parents, because I thought that was really suspicious. My mom called the cops, and I got questioned and everything. It was quite an experience.

What would your rapper name be? Oh, I’ll go with Big Q, maybe Q Dog? I don’t know. I’m not that big of a rapper, you know? So, maybe like M&M because I like m&ms.

What’s the most unusual gift you’ve ever gotten? My family knows that my favorite color is green. So, a few years ago, my grandparents thought it’d be funny for my birthday to get me a bunch of leprechaun stuff, because it’s all green. I just looked Irish.

What is your greatest accomplishment? This is a toughy. My greatest accomplishment has to be [my] being a big part of BBYO, which is a Jewish organization. I’m part of leadership networks, I was in charge of programming at a convention, and I’m running for a spot on my chapter’s board, which I’m very confident I will win, so I’m really excited for that. I think that that will be my biggest accomplishment throughout high school. Also, finding Yoni as a friend.

*This interview was recorded prior to Tratt in fact winning a spot on his youth group’s board.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? That’s 10 years, so I’ll be 25. I see myself in the Midwest. Maybe [in] Wisconsin, because Wisconsin has cheaper taxes, and it’s not that far from Illinois. And I just see myself maybe having a roommate or two and trying to find out what I want to do with my life. Like, maybe become a broadcaster; that sounds pretty fun. Maybe do more years in college, if I need to. [Your] 20s are the years that you make mistakes and figure out who you want to be.

What’s your motto in life? Enjoy the present, because eventually, it becomes the past.

Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert? I’m an introvert. I pretend to be an extrovert. I think, like, in eighth grade, I figured: you know what? If I want to make more friends, I’ve got to get out there. So, I just started becoming more of an extrovert, but more inside, I do enjoy being alone and just chilling in my house. I feel like that’s definitely really enjoyable, also, hanging out with friends is enjoyable as well, on the contrary.

What’s your favorite ice cream topping? M&ms. That’s the best candy hands down. It’s chocolate, it’s circular, it’s got the colors. Skittles are overrated as heck, [I] just need to get that out there in my article.

What’s your favorite video game? My favorite video game? I’m going to be honest, Fortnite‘s up there; I don’t really play [it, and] I’m not that good at it. I’m better at Fortnite than Milo Leitao, everyone knows that. But seriously, my favorite video game is probably like MLB The Show 20. That’s, like, three or four years old now, but [still]. I think I’ve played over 50 or 100 days of it, if you check my hours. I was addicted to that game.

Who sticks out as a positive who sticks out as a positive influence in your life? Honestly, this is a tough question. I think I’m going to go with my mom, because she’s a really hard worker, and she goes to work a lot, and still has time to take care of me and my brother.

If you could start a charity, what would it be? I think it would be for cancer, because a lot of people in my family and people I know have died of cancer recently. My teacher, sadly, has started chemo, so I think [that] if I would raise money for something, [it would be for that]. I used to do St. Baldrick’s as a kid in elementary school to raise money for people with cancer, and [would] shave my head. But, I do think cancer is definitely one of the biggest problems in the world right now.

Is there something I didn’t talk about that you want readers to know about you? I just want readers to read this and go: “Huh, quite an interesting guy.”